Champion trotting mare Keayang Zahara is poised to show some hometown “love” before jetting across to chase more feature race glory in New Zealand.
It looks certain the freakish five-year-old will step-out at Friday week’s Terang Cup meeting.
Terang is just 20 minutes from the Lee/Craven clan farm at Ecklin South where Keayang Zahara is trained.
Co-trainer Paddy Lee said Terang looked the best and possible only option to give Keayang Zahara, and star stablemate Jilliby Ballerini, another hit out before heading to NZ to tackle the $NZ530,000 TAB Trot at Cambridge on April 10.
“There is the Terang (Trotters’) Cup or if that doesn’t work out, we could just take them to the meeting for a private workout between races. The timing works well,” Lee said.
Racing in the Terang Trotters’ Cup would mean a switch from mobile to standing start racing and both Keayang Zahara and Jilliby Ballerini would start off the maximum 30m handicaps.
Just as they did in the Group 1 Great Southern Star last month, Keayang Zahara and Jilliby Ballerini ran the quinella in last Saturday night’s $100,000 Group 1 Hammerhead Mile at Menangle.
But it was Keayang Zahara’s night as she romped home by 12.5m to post her 15th Group 1 win. It equalled the Australasian record for Group 1 wins by a trotter with the great Kiwi Lyell Creek.
It’s frightening to think how many she could finish with.
Keayang Zahara’s 1min51.5sec winning mile also equalled a record, that of Maori Time from the same race in 2018 as the Australasian mile record by a trotter.
She is so great, it looks close to a formality that she will continue Victoria’s dominance in the two-year history of the TAB Trot.
Just Believe led home an Aussie “First Four” in 2024 with Callmethebreeze second, Queen Elida third and Arcee Phoenix fourth.
Last year it was a Victorian quinella with Arcee Phoenix beating Queen Elida.
This year there will only be two Victorians – Keayang Zahara and Jilliby Ballerini – but that may be enough to land the quinella again.
Remember, mares get a preferential barrier draw in the TAB Trot, so Keayang Zahara and Jilliby Ballerini look set to draw no worse than gate three.
“I can’t wait to be part of it, even if it means chasing her home again,” said Jilliby Ballerini’s driver Glen Craven.
“I’m not saying for a moment we’d have beaten ‘Zahara’, but Ballerini went huge and should have finished closer.
“We lost a lot of ground when that horse (Rockinwithattitude) galloped in front of us on the home turn and had to get going ahead. She did a mighty job to run second.
“But the winner is something else.
“Jilliby Ballerini is a star in her own right, but I think we’re seeing there is a gap between her and Zahara and that’s just how it is.”
Jason Lee also revealed he “nursed” Keayang Zahara to the line despite the blistering time.
“I should have asked her for a bit more and she’d have broken the record,” he smiled.
“She felt great and did it really well within herself.
“I can’t wait to get back to NZ. We had such a great time we took her across in late 2024. Everyone looked after us so well and really appreciated how good she was.
“It makes you really want to get back again.”
PHOTO: CLUB MENANGLE
